Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Wings
Bonesword+lashwhip
Devourers With Brainleech
Indescribable horror
Toxic Sacs
Adrenal Glands

Reroll to wound (presuming you're stronger than they are)
Reroll to hit (Preferred Enemy)
Str. 7 Init. 6 On the charge and Force weapons. Not to mention a Str. 6 gun to soften the oponnent before you make the kill.

Ohyeah. My Tyrant is all set.

Wings
Bonesword+lashwhip
Devourers With Brainleech
Indescribable horror
Toxic Sacs
Adrenal Glands

Why toxin sacs on S6/7? You'll be wounding on a 2+ in most cases and that is better than 4+ with re-rolls so why the toxin sacs? MC hunting? If so why the devourers?

You haven't got preferred enemy so why the re-rolls? You need old Adversary for that.

Why no hive Commmander? The only reason I can see to bothering with a Hive Tyrant?

Wings good.

Essentially there is no "right" way to build your Hive Tyrant. He neesd to fulfill a specific roll within your army. Think about what you want him to do and equipe him accordingly.

However never ever bother with eth Heavu Venom Cannon. A total waste of a weapon that does nothing. Small blast doesn't really effect infantry and the S9 will not instant death much that is worth IDing due to AP4...

It can shoot heavy infantry, will never earn anything like it's points back against light infantry and due to low accuracy and -1 on damage table it is no worry to vehicles with AV above 10...

Why would you ever take it?

Well, I kind of wanted Swarmlord just because he has cool fluff. After playing in a tournament with a normal Tyrant, now I want Swarmlord because I think he'd be better.

ED209 wrote:Magnet wont hold the metal ones like bonesword or lash whip so good, they are too heavy.

If you get Rare earth magnets, and then Key the arm and the socket with Brown stuff or miliput it should stick very well and not move at all

Alright, how about Tyrant Guard now? How many do you take and do you upgrade their weapons?

lash whips for the guard normally, if your HT's got one then you'd be better off leaving them with scytal's. as for how many that really depends on how much firepowers going to be coming your HT's way. i'm going for 2, seems an optimal number/cost ratio (yet to test this yet)

I run 2 currently naked with a HT with Shell, BS/LW, Stranglethorn and Hive Commander.

Thinking of trying Old Adversary, the flamer template attack that wounds on 2+, Talons and LW/BS, Shell. Flamer-like attack will be good to soften squads (not like they need it) and PE will be great to either cast on himself and his pals or on another unit that may need the extra punch (stealers or hormogaunts).

Thinking of trying Old Adversary, the flamer template attack that wounds on 2+, Talons and LW/BS, Shell.

You can't take a shell AND a Thorax swarm it is one o rthe other.

Old Adversary isn't "cast" it is permanently on and always gives the Tyrant and his Guard PE along with all other units within 6".

For a walking Tyrant 2 Guard seems about right, you can get away with less or none if you have plenty of MCs particularly if some are faster than the Tyrant so he's a lower priority target.

Ah well then I'll try the Thorax swarm anyway. I only need worry about the 2+ save when the Tyrant Guard die.

I'm looking at two alternatives for HTs. Either the swarmlord, partly because I regularly play a melee heavy SW-army, and partly because I like how enormously unfair it's melee fighting is :-)

The other alternative is the gaunt-supporter with Old Adversary, +1 to reserve rolls and some buffing psycic powers. I like Lashwhips, again because of the SWs and a DE Wych Cult army (!) among my regular opponents.

Both would get tyrant guards, at least two, maybe three. That's mostly because I don't have a lot of MCs, so my HT tends to draw fire. I value the + to reserves in both cases, since I use a lot of outflanking stealers (or ymgarls) and am currently building a bunch of spods.

And Fateweaver, armor saves are taken by models separately. If you take a lot of wounds from the same unit, you need to assign some to the HT before saves are rolled. I'm still not impressed with the 2+ save, except maybe when fighting big gaunt svarms, ork boyz, bloodclaws etc. Most other things that are aimed at HTs tends to come with ap2+ or powerweapon effects.

I know how it works but this past weekend all 5 times my HT and guard got assaulted my opp only caused enough wounds to wound the TG.

WS1 and I1 really neuter most units.

I know how it works but this past weekend all 5 times my HT and guard got assaulted my opp only caused enough wounds to wound the TG.

They didn't try shooting you at all? They really only caused 2 wounds in CC though they were all striking at the same I level?

LW's had them Striking at I1.

Paroxysm had any survivors hitting on 5's.

His squads with heavies and plasma were too busing fighting off a Trygon, some lictors and DL to be able to shoot my Tyrant.

TH/SS terminators don't have shooting attacks so they have to do things the hard way. 3+ Invuls aren't automatic.

TH/SS terminators don't have shooting attacks so they have to do things the hard way. 3+ Invuls aren't automatic.

TH/SS Terminators should have pounded the Tyrant even with hitting on 5s. Yeah they only get a 3+ save from the Tyrant but he's only 4 attacks and they get their full 2+ from the Guard and presumably they had some sort of character joining them?

Assumning 5 assaulting you joined by a Chaplain:

Tyrant 4 x 8/9 x 5/6 = 2.96 wounds = 1 dead Terminator
Guard 6 x 8/9 x 2/3 = 3.55 wounds = no dead terminators, but we'll say a wound on the Chaplain

4 Hammernator 12 x 5/9 x 5/6 = 5.55 unsaved wounds.
Caplain 3 x 5/9 x 1/6 = .3 unsaved wounds total of 6 so 2 on each model

Both guard are dead, Tyrant down to 2 wounds and has to make 4 armour saves for fearless!!

Hammernators win comfortably.

Aduro wrote:Alright, how about Tyrant Guard now? How many do you take and do you upgrade their weapons?

I'm in agreement with everyone else, stick with the scything talons. Boneswords are tempting, but not worth the points cost.

What should have happened didn't.

This squad had no chaplain attached oddly enough. He used his 2 HQ's on jump chaplain and K. Khan.

That is why I'm not fond of mathhammer. Mathhammer says that Trygon is the end all/be all of HS for nids and that Tyrant won't make his points back ever. Mathhammer failed me this weekend.

I'm sure there will be games that Mathhammer hits me in the ass but I don't build lists around mathhammer. I like to win but I don't take only optimal builds because quite frankly the optimal builds are usually the boring builds.

Swarm Lord with 2x Tyrant Guard (minimum) w/ Lash Whips - 410 pts.

Saw this combo TEAR UP some homies this past weekend. Only got gunned down once by a freakin Tau gun line so props to Mr. Swarm.